Towing rigs for water skis



Jan. 4, 1966 ETZLER 3,227,126

TOWING RIGS FOR WATER SKIS Filed June 5. 1964 INVENTOR ROBERT D. ETZLERATTORNEY United States Patent 3,227,126 TOWING RIGS FOR WATER SKISRobert I). Etzler, R0. Box 795, Hagerstown, Md. Filed June 3, 1964, Ser.No. 372,321 3 Claims. (Cl. 115-6.1)

This invention relates to towing rigs for water skis or various types ofwater ski boards which enables an inexperienced person during thepull-out or starting stage to easily control the skis until they reach aplaning position.

It is an object of the invention to provide a towing rig having meansdetachably connecting the tow rope to the tips of the skis so that thethrust of the pulling vehicle is applied through the tip of the skisrather than through the rider.

A further object of the invention resides in providing a towing rigdetachably connected to the tips of the skis so that less pulling poweris required to move the skis from a starting position to a planingposition and which will become automatically disconnected from the skiswhen a normal planing position is reached.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a detachabletowing rig which may be applied to conventional skis without anymaterial alterations and which may be controlled by the rider withoutrequiring any particular skill.

Another object of the invention is to provide a detachable towing rigfor skis which is simple in construction, reliable and eflicient in useand inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent duringthe course of the following specification.

In the accompanying drawing, forming a part of this specification, andin which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughoutthe same:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a skier in the starting positionwith the towing rig attached to the skis,

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG 1 with the skier in the planing positionand the towing rig detached from the skis,

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of skis with the towing rigattached to the tips of the skis,

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side view of a ski showing the connectionbetween the tow rig and the ski,

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a ski showing the connectionbetween the towing rig and ski,

FIG. 6 is a view like FIG. 5 showing the connecting elements between thetowing rig and ski reversed, and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of a water ski board showingthe connecting rings applied thereto.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawing a water skier is shown in thestarting position with the towing rig attached to the tips of the skisto supply the pulling force directly to the skis. The pulling force issupplied by a power boat or other suitable means (not shown). The towingrig comprises a tow rope 5 having diverging branch lines 6 and 7 held inspaced relation by a handle bar 8 connected to their free ends. Eachbranch line, intermediate its length, has a metal ring 9 suspended fromthe line for free swinging movement. The rings 9 are adapted to engageU-shaped hooks 10 fixedly attached to the top face of the upwardlycurved tips 11 of the skis 12 by bolts 13 with the mouth of the hookspositioned to receive and retain the rings when the tow 3,227,126Patented Jan. 4, 1966 rope is pulled forward. The bill of the hooks isslightly curved to facilitate engagement and release of the rings fromthe hooks.

With the tow rope attached to the skis the skier assumes the positionshown in FIG. 1 with the handle bar 8 gripped by the hands of the skier.As the tow rope is pulled forward by the power boat or other source ofpower the skis ride to the surface of the water and when the skier risesto the position shown in FIG. 2 and exerts a backward pull on the handlebar the rings 9 are automatically detached from the hooks 10.

If desired the hooks 10 may be attached to the branch lines 6 and 7 andthe rings 9 attached to the tips 11 of the skis 12, as shown in FIG. 6.When applied to a Water ski board 14, as shown in FIG. 7, the rings 9are attached to the front end of the board in spaced relation.

In use, an inexperienced skier need only attach the tow rope 5 to thetips 11 of the skis 12 by engaging the rings 9 carried by the branchlines 6 and 7 with the hooks It) mounted on the tips of the skis. As thepower boat pulls the tow rope 5' forward, the skier assumes the positionshown in FIG. 1 gripping the handle bar 8 with his hands. Thus, it isseen the skis are held in an inclined plane with the tips of the skisupwardly and as the skis are pulled forwardly through the water theyrise to the surface of the water and the skier then rises to theposition shown in FIG. 2, at the same time pulling backward on thehandle bar so as to detach the rings 9 from the hooks 10 thus releasingthe tow rope from connection with the skis. The location of theconnection at the tip of the skis gives the best directional pull whichis most important as directional stability is lost rapidly when theconnection is moved back from the tip. However, directional stability isreestablished by the skegs or fixed rudder on the skis when the planingposition is attained and the connection between the tow rope and skis isbroken. Another advantage of the towing rig is that the skis can beraised to a planing position with considerable less power than requiredfor normal pull-outs with conventional rigging. This permits the use ofsmaller power boats for pulling skiers.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herein shown anddescribed is a preferred example of the same and changes in the shape,size and arrangement of the parts may be made without departing from thespirit of the invention or scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A towing rig for water skis comprising a towing rope for connectionwith a pulling force, said rope having diverging branch lines, a handlebar connecting the free ends of the branch lines, a hook attached to thetip of each ski with the mouth of the hook facing the rear end of theski and a ring freely suspended from each branch line intermediate itslength adapted to engage said hook to establish connection between saidbranch lines and the skis when said towing rope is pulled forward by thepulling force, said rings being detachable from said hooks when abackward pulling force is applied to said handle bar.

2. A towing rig for water skis comprising a towing rope for connectionwith a pulling force, said rope having diverging branch lines, a handlebar connecting the free ends of the branch lines, and a hook and ringconnection between each branch line and the tip of a ski held togetherby the pulling force on said towing rope, said hook and ring beingdisconnected when a pulling force is applied to said handle bar to pullsaid towing rope in the opposite direction.

3. A towing rig for a water ski board comprising a towing rope forconnection with a pulling force, said rope having diverging branchlines, a handle bar connecting the free ends of the branch lines, and ahook and ring connection between each branch line and the forward end ofthe ski board held together by the pulling force on said towing rope,said hook and ring connections being disconnected when a pulling forceis applied to said handle bar to pull said towing rope in the oppositedirection.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,308,166 1/1943Fulton 24-73 2,946,305 7/ 1960 Hill. 3,027,574 4/1962 Meehan 114-235 X3,142,075 7/1964 Hill.

FOREIGN PATENTS 932,071 7/1963 Great Britain.

MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner.

T. M. BLIX, Assistant Examiner.

2. A TOWING RIG FOR WATER SKIS COMPRISING A TOWING ROPE FOR CONNECTIONWITH A PULLING FORCE, SAID ROPE HAVING DIVERGING BRANCH LINES, A HANDLEBAR CONNECTING THE FREE ENDS OF THE BRANCH LINES, AND A HOOK AND RINGCONNECTION BETWEEN EACH BRANCH LINE AND THE TIP OF A SKI HELD TOGETHERBY THE PULLING FORCE SAID TOWING ROPE, SAID HOOK AND RING BEINGDISCONNECTED WHEN A PULLING FORCE IS APPLIED TO SAID HANDLE BAR TO PULLSAID TOWING ROPE IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION.